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Workforce Secretary Rachel Kaprielian Speaks at Bunker Hill Community College

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Rachel Kaprielian, Secretary of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) spoke at Bunker Hill Community College today, August 7, 2014, in honor of the College’s inaugural class of twelve Culinary Arts Fundamentals Program graduates. The 100-hour, four-week non-credit Program aims to increase employment options and decrease barriers to careers for individuals with disabilities. It offers basic cooking and baking skills, contextualized communication, team building, safety rules, and sanitation and safe food-handling procedures.

“This is the kind of training program we need to replicate across the state to help students and job seekers overcome the unique barriers holding them back from finding gainful employment and a rewarding career path,” said Secretary Kaprielian. “The investments the Patrick Administration has made in these specialized programs will enable those groups with traditionally higher unemployment levels to share in the state’s economic recovery.”

Addressing the graduates, BHCC President Pam Eddinger urged them to continue on their educational journey. “Remember” she said, “that this is not the end but the beginning. There are great jobs and great careers in your future. We are so proud of you.”

“This has been a great opportunity for BHCC to develop and offer a customized non-credit culinary arts program to students we may not have served through traditional college programming. By focusing on competency-based curriculum, we are giving students the skills needed to be competitive in today’s job market,” said Barbara Rosenberg, Program Manager of the Workforce Development Center at BHCC.

The Culinary Arts Fundamentals Program is offered by the Metro North Partnership for Economic Improvement and Emerging Employees in Allied Health Care and Hospitality (MNP), a two-year initiative led by Triangle to increase the employment options for individuals with a range of disabilities. The program will serve 45 individuals with disabilities with the goal of 27 obtaining jobs.

Jeff Gentry, Triangle’s Youth Services Director noted that “our MNP students are not just getting jobs, they are starting viable careers in the culinary and allied health fields. The Commonwealth’s short-term investment in students with disabilities is helping create more productive, active citizens.”

The grant awarded to Triangle is one of seven grants, totaling $1.7 million, aimed at placing more than 160 individuals with disabilities in stable employment opportunities across the Commonwealth. The seven projects are funded by a grant through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, administered by the Commonwealth Corporation.

Bunker Hill Community College is the largest community college in Massachusetts. The College enrolls more than 14,000 students on two campuses and at three satellite locations. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Sixty-seven percent of the students are people of color and more than half of BHCC's students are women. The College also enrolls more than 850 international students who come from approximately 100 countries and speak more than 75 languages.